NZ teen convicted of cyber crime

[Camy]

A New Zealand teenager accused of being the ringleader of an international cyber-crime network has been convicted.

Owen Thor Walker, 18, admitted six charges of using computers for illegal purposes and will be sentenced in May.

Police allege the group infiltrated more than one million computers and used them to skim at least $20.4m (?10.3m) from private bank accounts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7323733.stm

Here's the bit that gets my goat:

Walker faces up to five years in prison for several of the charges, but Judge Arthur Tompkins indicated he was not considering a custodial sentence.

I'm pretty damn sure if I was caught stealing $20m, I'd get locked up.

Wanna borrow my Botnet, anyone?

[colinian]

There's an article on c|net at http://www.news.com/8301-10789_3-9907939-57.html?tag=nl.e433 that has more technical information about the nature of the botnet that Owen Thor Walker set up and how he was discovered as the perp and arrested, and what and why the sentencing may not include jail time.

Colin

[Cole Parker]

Okay, I read the link, but it sure didn't make clear why there is no jail time being considered.

C

[colinian]

Okay, I read the link, but it sure didn't make clear why there is no jail time being considered.

C

There are several reasons: he's cooperating with the police; his age; and probably most important (from the BBC link) he has Asperger's Syndrome.

Colin

[Trab]

Oh great. Another reason to fear aspies. Seriously though, younger aspies do have a difficult time with this type of issue (not recognizing right from wrong if there is no clear explanation or definition) and even worse, believe just about anything we hear. This improves with age and experience, but we have a hard time lying, and therefore also have a hard to understanding what a lie is, and naively believe everything we hear. He could have been told by a friend or anyone he trusts (probably everyone) that it was okay to do this as it helps improve the security systems. And he'd believe he was doing them a favor. I'm not saying that's what happened, but more aspies get sucked into criminal action that way than you'd believe.

[Cole Parker]

I didn't see any reference to that in the article I read.

C

[Trab]

Colin said it is in a link from the BBC from that story.